This year’s round of Jose Bautista’s free agency went much like his encounter with Rougned Odor. First, he postured, then he got punched in the jaw, and afterwards he got back up and acted like it didn’t really happen. To wit, Bautista was looking for a five-year, $150 million deal, had a down year, and attempted to “save face” with what’s effectively a one-year, $18 million deal. So how much, exactly, is Joey Bats worth?
FanGraphs projects Bautista for 2.8 WAR ($23 million) next season and 6.6 WAR over the next three years ($68 million) when factoring in a standard aging curve.